Passenger-side automotive airbags are commonly constructed of an elongated, cloth or cloth-like, flexible main panel having two ends which form the opposite sides of a rectangular mouth when the panel is doubled over. Two flexible side panels of a similar material are sewn to the main panel. One end of each side panel forms a remaining side of the rectangular mouth. When inflated, the airbag is substantially square or rectangular in cross-section and tapers down to a narrow throat area adjacent the mouth.
A common way of attaching the airbag to the airbag module involves the use of pockets along opposite sides of the airbag mouth which receive rods or tubes therein. The pockets, with the rods inserted, are retained in channels formed in the module to keep the mouth open and in proximity to an inflator which supplies gas to the airbag upon occurrence of a crash.
Passenger-side airbag modules are being installed in a wide variety of vehicles, such as trucks, which have heavy duty chassis construction. Also, automobile chassis are becoming stiffer as a result of customer concerns about interior noise and vibration. Vehicles that have stiff construction are slower to crumple, and thereby dissipate energy, before the vehicle's occupants begin to move forward by inertia in response to the crash. As a result, airbags in such vehicles must inflate and deploy unusually rapidly in order to provide earlier restraint. This rapid deployment puts additional stress on all components of the airbag, in particular, the bag throat and rod pockets. The stress is most severe at bag "snap," when the bag stops its rearward movement into the vehicle and begins to fill out. Furthermore, in the case of pyrotechnic inflators, the stress occurs in a location that is subject to the weakening action of hot gases.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an airbag with a throat and mouth construction which more evenly distributes the stress of bag snap over a wide area. Another object is to provide such a construction which is cheaper than conventional construction. Another object is to provide such a construction which provides shielding against the heat of inflation gases. Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.